The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-11-27
He Is TALL Loose -Jointed, and Is Only Dstin-
guished from the -Boned Rustic by His
Millions of Money and His Clothes.
The Tuxedo Bellies Succeed in Securing
Novelty for Thanksgiving Day.
Mrs. James Brown Potter Gives No KisseSsto
Her Stage Lovers-A Kiss That Lasts Forty
Two Seconds-The Christmas Cards.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal

NEW York. Nov Pa new John Jacob
Astor is about to make his debut. He is the
fourth John Jacob Astor. He has just wound
up his career as student To all appearances
his scholastic life was conducted becomingly,
for he has his name inscribed on am honorable
Harvard sheepskin to testify to the right to
place the letters A. 3. after his name. He Is
not the son of John Jacob Astor the third, but
a son of that John Jacobs brother William. In
spite of his famous name and OF the incredible
millions that will be all his own when his father
shufaes off, the new John Jacob is not regarded
,sas the hope of the family. His people got
through anticipating great things for him when
|, he youns boy, and now that he has at
tained to mans estate it is said that the loftiest
ambition they have regarding him is that he will
! continue to do nothing except some day to
/ marry girl whose strength of character may
prove effective in re-enlivening the blood.
Young John Jacob is tall, loose-jointed fellow,
who would pass for a typical raw-boned rustic
if it not for his clothes; his forehead Is of
the retreating kind; hfs nose is his one redeem
ing feature, Ill that it is very large. but shape
is not suggestive of the strength that is said to
&C with big nasal organs. 1t is rather snubby
| and pronounced, and at the same time wofuly
ugly. His whole bearing is negative, and it is
| safe to say that. although he may never do any
| thing to honor the name of Astor, he will never
| do anything to violently discredit it He has
had every advantage in opportunities for edu-
cation that wealth could buy, and his road to
| learning has been made as royal as possible
/ He was early sent to st. Pauls, a well known
| academy at Concord, New Hampshire, where a
| specially is made of preparing boys for col
| le2e. He arrived at Harvard little more
| than four years ago. Those who have been
4 yard haiti nn1d fax q
very, very dull man to fail of attaining the ordi
nary bacealaureate degree. Honors. or even
| honorable mention, requires special ability and
| hard work, but the sheepskin needs only faith
/ fulness to the general orders of the institution
/ TO capture. Nevertheless. young John Jacob
has the authority for claiming all the glory
| there may be in the Harvard diploma, and, bet
/ Ter yet, he has real estate in fact and prospect
| for he is an only son, and heir prospective to
half the entire Astor estate. He will be this
-~inters center of interest in society, and the
/ sirl.will delight to hover around his presence.
! = As< 20 conS irrational powers, but does not
commit himself to rank absurdites, for he can
| say in a conventional way that it is pleasant
/ evening or nasty weather, you know, and he
| can swing his feet through the mazes of waltz
german In q moderately elegant style.
But. better than brilliant rhetoric and dancing,
| he has money, barrels and barrels of it, and lots
| more where that came from. The glitter of his
| gold is unaoyed. and the taste OF his tailor is
| recognized as unexceptionable.
| ~x
| LII is hard TO do any tllnS novel on IhankSglV-
ing day. but the fact be accomplished by
| those who put their minds to it-especially if
| those minds are not particularly burdened with
| ordinary affairs of life The thing was done at
| Tuxedo. The deviser of the scheme is unknown
| to fame, but the invention was used in the two
| or three score of very swell households which
| were filed on Thursdays holiday The fash
ionable girls there went cunning earlier in the
| the week, carrying silver mounted shotguns,
| embroidered game-bags, and did so much pop
| ping at birds that reasonable number of song
| sters ceased to sing. These birds We're made to
take the places of turkeys the chief dishes at
the Thanksgiving dinners, beaux were especially
| invited to eat the game that had been shot by
| the bellies, and great deal was made of the
combination of sentiment and gastronomy.
Things in town, so far as the self-exhibitory
set of society is concerned, will begin to go with
a rush early next month. The whole of Del
monico's building has been engaged for the
night of December 9Th by Mrs. Newbould Nor
ris. The public cafe and restaurant will be ac-
cessible to the usual customers until l o'clock
in the morning, and until that hour Mrs. Nor
rs's guests will only the three upper stories;
but by the time that the guests get hungry the
outer doors will be shut entirely to common
| folks and the walls will inclose only the swells
| and their servitors. The demonstration would
| be characterized as splurge if Mrs. Morris
| were newly rich. or had not long held a COM
| mandng position III society" but no such criti
| cism will be made in this case, and the first
ball of the season will be considered strictly
| polite boom. Five other balls by various indi-
| viduals and organizations i'll the Astor- Wander
| bilt set will occur on the same premises in De-
| cember.
Mrs. William Astor gave elaborate dinner
| party this week, and among her guests were
eight girls locally famous for beauty. They all
| belonged to families of money and pride, and
were maidens altogether beyond reproach.
| Nevertheless, one of them is a subject of gossip
in her own and other circles by reason of her
professed infatuation for kyrle Bellew,
actor. None of her intimates believe that she
cares rap for the fellow, for if she did she
would not avow her love so openly as she does.
| They rather incline to the theory that she is
amusing herself. and gaining piquant dis
tinction, by a fad of her own exclusive making.
| Bellew is intellectual but odd in appearance,
with no claims to beauty; but for several years
| he was Wallacks juvenile actor, and it has long
| been tradition that the mimic hero at Wallack's
| is adored by feminine New York. No notion
| could be falser and as to Bellew he receives
more ridicule than admiration. But this girl
| took it into her noddle to be wild worshiper of
| him She goes persstently to matinees where
| he performes she has her carriage wait for her
| near enough to the stage door to see him
emerge, she sends flowers to him IN profusion:
| an Ada to his David Garrick. don't think she
ever met him, and feel sure that, were ne to
| presume upon her whimsical sport he would be
faced about right briskly But fashionable
girl being debarred from valuable employ
ments must have recourse to something non
sensically singular if she would be unique at all.
| Mrs. James Brown Potter promised to her
husband, just before making her debut here as
professional actress that she would never
allow her mimic lovers of the stage to kiss her.
That is what her acquaintance in society say,
and the story is circumstantially proven before
her audiences. In the first play in which she
was heroine the courtship did not result in
marriage, nor even in a sentimental surrender,
and so the absence of kissing did not attract
much attention. But it was different IN the en-